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Aug. 21, 1928. 1,681,747

. H. G. SHORTT 1* AUTOMATIC RECEIVER PUMP v Filed Nov. 18, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l A ORNEY Aug. 21, 1928. 1,681,747

" H. G. SHORTT AUTOMATIC RECEIVER PUMP Filed Nov. 18, 1926 s 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 'l/I/Il/l l/ a 7 M /6 4 Q g. 42 m-v w ATTO'RNEY Aug. 21, 1928.

H. G. SHORTT AUTOMATIC REGEIVERQUMP 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 21, 19.28.

UNITED stares HOWARD G. SHORTT, O CABTTIAGE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO STEB- Tar QSFFEQE,

BINS ENGINEERING AND IYIAN'TIFACTURING COMPANY, OF WATERTOWN, NEW

YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC RECEIVER PUMP.

Application filed November My present invention relates to an automatic receiver pump, designed chiefly for handling high temperature condensate and boiler'feeding, the same being adapted for use with air, steam, water, gas, and all other kinds of gases or fluids; and in fact it is intended to be applied for handling any kind of liquid or fluid or other similar substance or-material; as, for example, the device may serve in connection with a steam condensation plant, or a hot water heating system, or a water distribution apparatus, or any other mechanism or device having like or similar objectives and purposes,

The present invention constitutes and involves certain novel and useful improvements upon the fluid pressure alternating mechanism patented by me with Alderic Cormier, July 28, 1925, No 1,547,853 in which a duplicate or alternating system'em ploying a plurality of two or more tanks or reservoirs receives the fluid or liquid in automatic alternation, together with means for introducing steam pressure into the two tanks separately and alternately to force out the contents and carry the same back to feed water holders or elsewhere.

And my present improvements utilize a single receiver, tank, .or reservoir, instead ofa plurality of receivers, for the water or other liquid, fluid, or substance, resulting from the condensation of steam or otherwise; said receiver or tank being arranged in conjunction with steam inlet and outlet valves for the tank, a fluid pressure, hydraulic, electric, or other regulating and governing control mechanism for said steam inlet and outlet valves, and a pair of fluid pressure control valves for said control mechanism, together with automatic devices in the tank and actuated by the level of the water therein for operating said valves when the tank is full and also when it is empty, in automatic alternation; and the invention may also be said to consist, moreover, in the numerous details and peculiari ties in the construction, combination. and arrangement of the various parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

my invention 18, 1926. Serial No. 149,159.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved automatic receiver pump.

Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same,

Figure at is a detail View of a part of the air valve operating devices.

Figure 5 is a detailed vertical section of the construction of the steam and vent valves to show more particularly the arrangement of the relief valve of each, and its winged rod.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout all the different figures of the drawing.

In the present illustrative specimen of my invention A denotes a tank, reservoir, or receiver, which may be of any size. shape and design, and may be taken as arranged for example with a steam condensation plant. The condensation water flows into the tank through the inlet check valve 63 and the opening a, and at the proper time when the tank is full the water is discharged from the tank through the same opening and the discharge check valve 64. This ejection of the receiver contents is accomplished by the agency of high pressure steam which enters the top of tank A through a port or passage 6, when the tank has filled up with water, said port Z) being in a frame or upright B which supports the two casings for the steam inlet and outlet valves. Through the port I) the high pressure steam reaches the interior of receiver A at one time, (when the tank'is full of water) and through the same port I) the exhauststeam escapes to the atmosphere or elsewhere at another time, (when the water has been expelled by the steam pressure from the tank).

It will be understood that the steam is in ranged in some other convenient manner, is a valve casing 11 which 1s entered by the steam pipe 12 which conveys high pressure steam to port 6 from the boiler or some casing 11 is a valve 14 for controlling the flow of the live steam from inlet 12 into the tank A through port I) and in casing 11 is another valve 1.3 having the function of an outlet valve for allowing the waste steam to pass out from tank A through port 7) and into and through the outlet or vent pipe 12. Before explaining in greater detail the steam inlet and outlet valves just alluded to, I will refer to the means for automatically operating the same for disposing of the contents of tank A. Said means consists in one example of the invention, as illustrated, of a fluid pressure piston and cylinder and suitable connecting pipes, valves, and float mechanism.

In the said fluid pressure control device, see Figures 1 and 2, 1 denotes a cylinder in which isa reciprocating piston 2, attached to which on opposite sides are the piston rods 5 and 5. On one side of piston 2 is a chamber 3 and on the other side a chamber 3*, said two chambers being intended to receive fluid pressure, as air, which is delivered thereto respectively through pipe 4 which enters chamber 3 and the pipe 4 which enters the chamber 3. These pipes 4 and 4 run to some suitable points alongside tank A, the pipe 4 enteringa valve casing 19 that contains a valve device for controlling the passage of air, said casing 19 being supported by bracket or frame 21, or other means, on the wall or head of tank A; while the pipe 4 leads to another casing 20 similarly supported on a bracket or frame 22 on the wall or head of tank A, said casing 20 containing another air valve device. These two air valves are automatically actuated by means of a float, 23 inside of tank A. and floating in the contents of the latter, said float 23 rising and falling with the level of the liquid contents of the tank and mechanically opening and closing the aforesaid air valves in order that fluid pressure which is delivered to valve casing 19 from pipe 24 and to valve casing 20 from pipe 25, which pipes 24 and 25 run from some suitable air reservoir or supply, may be released by the action of the valves in said casings so as to pass through the pipes 4 and 4 to act against the opposite sides of piston 2, and thus en.- able the latter through the medium of suitable leverage to operate the steam and er:- haust valves and permit high pressure steam to enter tank A on top of the liquid contents thereof in order to effect said contents through opening a, or by the use of any other outlet and inlet means with which the tank A may be provided.

Describing these parts in greater detail, it will be seen that the side of tank A has an opening 26 providedwith a cover 27 held securely thereto by means of bolts 28, but readily removable to allow access to the interior of tank A when it is desired to insert, repair or remove the float 23. The cover 27 has a protuberance 29 thereon, in which is mounted a horizontal shaft 30, tightly packed in the bearings 31, said shaft 30 having an arm 32 on one end and an arm 33 on the other end, (see Figure 4) said arms 32 and 33 having cleft or slotted'ends 32 and 33 to enable them to pivotally connect with the lower ends of valve stems 34 and 35 by engaging the pins 36 and 37 in the lower ends of said stems. These stems.

belong to the fluid. pressure or air valves in the casings 19 and 20, as I shall presently show. Of course the pivotal connections with these stems may be changed and varied in many different ways. The horizontal shaft- 30 is connected to a rearwardly extending rod 38 which carries the float 23, so that as the float rises and falls due to'the change of the water lever it will rock the shaft 30 and also vibrate the lever arms 32 and 33 and move the lift rods 34 and 35 and the valves 40 and '39 not connected to said rods, but to'steins 43 and 44 accordingly as the movement of the float 23 is up or down.

The fluid pressure'valve 40 is carried in casing 20, where it has a seat 42, and its stem consists of two parts 43 and 34, in alignment with each other, the part 43 be ing attached to the valve 40 itself, while the part 34 as 1 have said is pivoted to arm 32 of shaft 30. As the two parts of the valve stem are in line with each other, it will be seenthat when the ste1n 34 reciprocates upwardly it will strike stem 43 and lift valve 40 from seat 42 so as to allow fluid pressure from pipe 25 to pass through the valve into pipe 4 which carries it to chamber 3 in cylinder 1. When the stem section 34 reciprocates downwardly and ceases contact with the lower end of stem 7 be seen that when stem 35 moves upwardly" it will strike againstthe end of stem section 44 and raise the same and thereby open i,ss1,747

valve 39 so that air pressure entering casing 19 from pipe 24 may pass the valve and be delivered through pipe 4 to chamber 3 in cylinder 1. As the arms 32 and 33 project in opposite directions, it will result that the rocking of shaft will raise one arm at the same time that it lowers the other, and hence when one valve-is opened the other will remain shut, and thus the valves will open one at a time. It is not necessary that the pressure in the reservoir from which air is taken by pipes 24 and 25 to these valves should be large, as a low pressure ofvfrom twenty to thirty pounds will usually be found sufiicient for the purpose of supplying enough power to move piston 2 and transmit mo tion therefrom to the steam and exhaust valves, keeping one open while the other is closed. One of these fluid pressure valves 39 and will be opened, as 39, when the tank A is full of water, and the float has risen to the top; the other valve, as 40, will be opened when the tank is emptv and the float has dropped to the bottom of the tank.

Referring now to the steam admission and disposal means, and "specifically the valve device for introducing steam into tank A on 3 top of the liquid contents therein for the purpose of effettuating the discharge of such contents, I premise that the tank has a steam admission and a steam vent valve, as already pointed out, one of the valve devices being arranged in connection with the casing 11 and the other in connection with the easing 11, the details being fully delineated in Figure 2. The steam or pressure valve 14 functions with relation toa seat 46 to permit steam to pass through port 5 into tank A.

Valve 14 has a stem which is made in two parts 17 and 10 placed end to end, one of these parts, as 17, being attached to valve 14, and the other part 1O being the lowermost part and passing out through the lower end of the casing 11*. while directly above the stem section 10 is the stem section 17, secured to valve 14, whi h is lifted when stem 1O contacts with the lower end of section 17 and raises same, while directly above valve 14an integral member rises and terminates in the piston 18, which operates loosely within the upper portion of valve casing 11 and below the hollow cap 48 which is screwed removably into the top of the cas ing 11*. When the stem section 10 reciprocates downwardly and ceases to be in contact with the lower end of stem section 17 the valve 14 will close down upon its seat, and this closing of one valveon its seat will take place before the opening of the other valve due to the use of the sectional valve rods.

It is quite obvious that if the valves 13 and 14 and parts connected to or made integralwith them are of the proper weight to cause the valves to close tightly on their seats, aided by the exhaust pressure of steam on the valves, when the other pressures do that the steam valve may entirely close be fore the exhaust valve opens, and the reverse. In other machines of-a common type 9 where an operating lever is used with a valve, the vent valve usually opens when the steam valve starts to close, or the reverse takes place, but this is objectionable because both valves will then be simultaneously open a part of the time and high pressure steam will be allowed to blow out through the vent valve.

The exhaust or vent valve 13 in casing 11 is built and arranged to operate similarly to the live steam inlet valve 14. Valve 13 fun tions with relation to its seat 45 to permit exhaust steam to pass from tank A through port 6 into the outlet pipe 12. Valve 13 has a stem which is made in two parts 15 and 10 placed end to end, one of these parts 15 being attached to valve 13 andthe other part 10 being the lowermost part and passing out through the packing in the lower end of-casing 11, while directly above the stem section 10 is the stem section 15 se ured to .valve 13, which valve lifts from its seat 45 and opens when the stem section 10 contacts with the lower end of stem section 15 and raises the same; while directly above the valve 13 an integral member rises and terminates in the piston 16 which operates loosely more or less within the upper portion of the valve casing 11 and below the hollow cap 47 whi"h is screwed removably into the top of casing 11. The construction and arrangement of all the various parts of the exhaust valve mechanism is therefore seen to be exactly similar to those of the steam inlet valve mechanism, and while one performs the duty of admitting the live steam the other performs the duty of venting the steam after it has discharged its function of expelling the liquid contents of the tank A.

Describing the steam and exhaust valves more fully and also the relief valves, it will be seen that. the steam or pressure inlet valve 14 functions with relation to' a seat 46 to permit steam to pass through pipe 12 into the chamber whence it flows out through pipe 6. Valve 14has a stem which is made in two parts placed end to end, one of these parts being designated 17 and the other 10-, the latter being the lowermost part and passing lSS '17 is a three orfour-wingod rod 70 having a round terminal 52 at its lower end which closes the lower end of the tubular stem 17 when the rod is lifted, and said rod 70 has alsoa terminal valve 50 at its upper end which plays back and forth with reference to a seat 71 in the center of' the piston 18. At certain times as I shall presently show, steammay circulate past the piston 18, for it is a loose fit, and flow under the hollow cap 48 and this steam can return when the val e 50 is opened by flowing past said valve and along the channels between the wings of the rod 70 through the tubular stem 17, and vent or exhaust through the lateral opening or openings 7 2 in said stem, all as clearly shown in Figure 5. l v hen the stem section 10 reciprocates upwardly, therefore, it will lift the winged rod 70 and cause the lowerend 5:2 ofthe tubular stem 17, to be closed, thus opening the valve 50, at the'same time that the valve 14 is lifted from its seat 46by the action of the stem on the lower end of stem 17, and conversely, when the stem 10 drops, it is obvious that the'winged rod 70 will drop until the valve 50 closes down on the seat 71, and the valve 14 closes down on the seat 46, these parts gravitating downwardly and being forced down by the exhaust pressure of the steam as soon as the stem section 10 drops. Both thesteam and vent valves are preferably provided therefore with a relief valve of some suitablekind, as for example, that shown'in the former Letters Patent of myself and Cormier, No. 1,547,830 hereinabove mentioned. This is fully shown in Figure 5. As already implied, the valve stem sections 17 and 15 are each tubular, and within each is a winged rod, as 70, having for stem 1'7 a round terminal. at its lower end which closes the lower end of the tubular stem 17 when stem 17 is lifted by contact of the stem 1O with the terminal 52, and the same winged rod in the tubular stem 17 has also a terminal valve at its upper end which plays. back and forth with reference to its seatin the center of piston 18. The vent valve operates in exactly the same manner as the steam valve 14, for the stem section 15 is hollow and has a winged rod therein having a lower terminal valve 51 and atop valve 49. all operating similarly as explained for the steam valve mechanism, and being a counterpart of the same in all respects, the hollow stem 15 havinn; an exhaust port in its wall. And both relief valves for the steanrand ventvalves consists therefore of similar parts and are both for the purpose of exhausting the pres the tubular construction of the valve stems 15 and 17 belonging to the valves 13 and 14, the winged rods therein, etc, it will be noted that when the steam inlet valve or the steam exhaust valve is closed tightly down upon its seat, the steam pressure will be ontop.

of the same and will rise upwardly and flow past the loosely fitting pistons 16 and'18, as the case may be, into the chambers of the caps 47 and 48, the valve 49 or 50at this time being closed. When however the valve 13 or 14 is lifted away from its seat the valve 49 or 50 will be opened and steam which is in the upper portion of these chambers and parts will pass down through the seat 71 of valves 49 or 50 and out through the lateral openings in stems 15' and 17. as the case may be, so as to be disposed of in the natural way. For otherwise the steam would not have free employment through the channels and passages in the performance of its normal'functions.

On the lower end of the upright- 13, near therbottom ends of valve casings 11 and 11 a. rocker arm is pivoted by means of a pivot pin 9, said arm having projecting members 8 and 8, and between and at a right angle to these two arms 8 and S 'is another arm 7 projecting at a right angle. The ends of all of these parts 7, 8, and 8, are hooked or cleft or otherwise formed to pivotally engage the lower ends of the valve stems 10 and 10? and a yoke 6, the hooked ends engaging pins on said stems while the hook on the end of arm 7 engages a pin 53 on the yoke or how 6 which is bolted to the ends of the piston rods 5 and 5 attached to the operating piston 2 in cylinder 1. Thus it will be seen that the movement of the piston 2 in one direction or the other will rock the rocker arm and produce an effect on the valves. When the piston moves in one direction the rocker arm will rock one way on its pivot 9 and move one valve stem, as 10, up and the other valve stem, as 10, downward, and the movement of the piston 2 in the opposite direction will actuate the valve stems in opposite directions.

Due to the divided character of the valve,

stems, a feature which exists also with the fluid pressure valves above described, when the inlet valve is open the vent valve is closed, and the reverse, that is to say they are never simultaneously part way open,

the use of a single tank in, which is a single float mechanism governing the action of duplicate fluid pressure control valves which function to open and close steam inlet and outlet valves arranged to admitsteam to the tank when it is full so as to expel thecontents, after whichrthe steam itself is quickly exhausted so as to free the tank of such exhaust and allow the water of condensation to again flow into the tank. The use of a common passage under the control of the steam inlet and exhaust valve, whichv passage at one time serves as air-inlet passage and at another time as an outlet passage, is a novel and useful feature. The use of a single float to operate the fluid pressure valves, one of them at its extreme upward travel and the other at its extreme lower travel is a feature whichmakes for economy and efliciency. Thus an orderly pro gression in the operation'of the tank will take place and the regular automatic alternation in the filling and emptying of the same progresses in regular and orderly sequence, for whenever the tank is full it will be quickly discharged by the fluid pressure The air valve casings 19 and 20 are provided with vent holes 61 and 62 which are found to be necessary in carrying on the operation successfully, for without them the pressure in the opposite end of the cylinder could not exhaust. In the operation it ,is also to be particularly noted that the water of condensation or other fluid or liquid flows into the tank through the opening a and through the check valve inlet 63, the pressure against which the pump is discharging at this time holding the outlet check valve 6% closed. Describing the operation generally therefore it will be seen that when the float rises to the top and trips the valve 39 the piston 2 will be moved to open the high pressure steam inlet valve 14 which will allow high pressure steam to flow into the tank, this tank pressure being higher at this time than the intake pressure entering by check valve 63, so that consequently check valve 63 closes; and as the tank pressure is also higher than the pres?- sure it is discharging against the check valve 64 opens and the fluid contents of the tank are discharged through said check valve '64-. As the float lowers to the bottom. of the tank when the contents are all discharged the valve 40 trips and reverses the travel of piston 2 so as to open the vent valve 13,

which allows the steam pressure within the. tank to exhaust and this permits the check valve 63 to open, the discharge check valve 64 being now held shut by the pressure against which the pump is discharging. But it will be understood that numerous changes and alterations in the construction and combination may obviously be permissible within the scope of the claims.

aving thus described my invention, what T .I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an alternating mechanism of the kind described, the combination of a tank having inlet and outlet valves controlling an inlet and outlet opening, a. buoyant member in the tank which rises and falls in the liquid, a cylinder and its piston reciprocable by fluid pressure, air valve devices, having exhaust means, means whereby the buoyant member actuates the air valve devices to control the flow of pressure to said cylinder, one valve being operated when the buoyant member is at the upper limit of its travel, and the other valve being operated when the said member is at the lower limit of its travel, steam and exhaust valve mecha nisms arranged in connection with a common passage to the tank, piston rods on opposite sides of the aforesaid piston, a yoke connecting them, a rocker arm engaging the yoke and acting in connection with saidsteam and exhaust valve mechanisms, so that the latter may be actuated in correspondence with the changing level of the liquid within the tank, the steam valve when the tank is full of liquid, and the exhaust valve when the tank is empty, together with relief valves carried by the steamand exhaust valves.

2. In an automatic alternating mechanism for a receiver pump of the class described, the combination of a tank having inlet and outlet valves, a buoyant member in the tank, external air valves on the tank, said valves having exhaust means, means connecting the buoyant member with the air valves whereby said valves are automatically controlled by the buoyant member when it is at the upper and lower limits of its travel, a cylinder and its piston reciprocable by air pres sure accordingly as one or the other of the air valves is actuated by the buoyant member, pipes for conveying air pressure to said cylinder, said pipes being controlled by the 7 said valves and having winged rods, a piston rod attached to each side of the piston, a rocker arm device pivoted to the ends of the valve stems, a yoke secured to the ends of the piston rods and pivotally connected to the rocker arm, all arranged so that the piston may operate the valve mechanisms independently'to admit steam when the tank is full of water and exhaust it when it is empty.

3. In an automatic receiver pump, the combination of a tank having an inlet and outlet valve, a float therein having an arm, a rock shaft having lever arms at the ends and actuated by the float arm which is secured thereto, air valves on the tank having stems and provided with exhaust means, said rockshaft arms being arranged to move the valve stems soa-s to allow the float to automatically control said airvalves, 3, cylinder and its piston, pipes leading from the air valves to opposite ends of the cylinder to deliver pressure to move the piston in one direction or the other, a steam inlet valve for the tank and a steam outlet valve for the tank, said two valves each having divided valve stems,a rocker device pivoted ment of thepiston may control the opening and closing of the steam and vent valves, relief valves for said steam and vent valves, all arranged so that when the float ac-tuates one of the air pressure valves the piston will be reciprocated to actuate the steam inlet valve when the tank is full, and when the tesmw its piston, oppositely projecting piston rods on the piston and a yoke connecting them,

automatic air valves having stems, a float in the tank having an arm, a rock shaft having lever arms engaging the valve stems and secured to the float arm, all arranged to operate the air valves from within the tank by the changing of the liquid level, to control the passage of pressure to the different sides 7 of the piston and actuate the same, exhaust means for the automatic air valves, a steam inlet valve, a steam outlet valve, both of said valves employing a common passage into the tank, and having piston members, and the stems of both valves being sectional, a rocker device pivoted to the projecting ends of both valve stems and also pivoted to the piston rod yoke, and relief valves carried by the steam inlet and outlet valves for the purpose of exhausting the pressure above the piston members of said steam inlet and outlet valves so that the pressure on the under side of said piston members will assist in opening the same, the area of the piston members being greater than that of the valves.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature. r T

- HOWARD G. snonrr; 

